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Thaddeus Ross
|gender = Male |age = |DOB = |DOD = 2018 (resurrected by Hulk in 2023) |clearance = |IDno = |title = Secretary of State |affiliation = |movie = *''The Incredible Hulk'' *''Captain America: Civil War'' *''Avengers: Infinity War'' *''Avengers: Endgame'' *''Black Widow'' *''The Incredible Hulk 2'' *''Thunderbolts'' |oneshot = |tv series = Thunderbolts |web series = |game = |comic = |actor = William Hurt |voice actor = |status = Alive }}Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is the former Lieutenant General of the United States Army who became the Secretary of State for President Matthew Ellis. During his career, he was put in charge of their military project called the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project, with Ross' main aim being to find ways to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. However, the experiment led to an accident which then transformed the scientist Bruce Banner into the Hulk. After a long hunt, Banner was captured, only for Ross' subordinate officer Emil Blonsky to use all their experiments to transform into the monstrous Abomination. In the face of these odds, Ross was forced to accept Hulk as an ally, allowing him to escape after the fight in New York City, as Ross had been left humiliated by such a disastrous defeat. Five years after this incident, Ross left the Military and served as the United States Secretary of State. During this time, Ross approved of the Sokovia Accords, which aimed to control the actions of all enhanced individuals, primarily the Avengers due to their past actions. As Captain America publicly disowned their accords before going on the run with the Winter Soldier, Ross instructed Iron Man to bring them into custody. Ross arrested many of the Avengers, locking them up inside the Raft, but as Captain America then learned Helmut Zemo was to blame for the devastation, he freed the prisoners. Ross' actions with the Accords eventually proved deadly since the divided Avengers failed to stop Thanos from causing the Snap, killing trillions of lives, including Ross' own. Once the team regrouped and reversed Thanos' actions, Ross then attended Tony Stark's funeral to pay his respects. Upon meeting the Leader, Ross was tricked when HYDRA used different version of gamma ray, turning Ross into the Red Hulk like his daughter. Under the Leader's control, Ross caused a rampage in New York City until he was confronted by Hulk, along with other gamma ray individuals who were also like Banner. This led to a serious showdown, in which Ross was beaten, but was able to break free of the Leader's control and fight against HYDRA. Eventually, Ross would establish the Thunderbolts, a team of former criminals that Ross sought to make them into superheroes to prevent any future threats, such as HYDRA. History Creating Super-Soilders A young Thaddeus Ross had returned to the United States of America at the age of twenty-seven, having joined the United States Army and participated in the Vietnam War. Through his career, Ross rose up through the ranks, becoming a three-star general, and had his daughter named Elizabeth, although they had a highly tense relationship throughout her life.1 Ross was involved in their research and development program intended to recreate their Super Soldier Serum. The project was known as the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project. At the beginning of the scheme, the army used their captured terrorists to test out various serums. However, as the pictures from the project came out and the United States Congress then killed it. Creating the Hulk General Ross got an agreement with the scientist Bruce Banner, the boyfriend of his daughter, for working on his government project to the weapon development project, under the guise of it being used render soldiers immune to gamma radiation. Involved from early phase research, Banner conducted a test on himself dealing with gamma radiation, instead of vita radiation, confident it would work. However, as the experiment went ahead, Ross witnessed something going terribly wrong as Banner was struck by the gamma radiation, causing an explosion. Following the blast, Banner was transformed into the Hulk, a giant and amazingly strong brute fueled by rage who fled after injuring his daughter, leaving her in a coma as well as killing another of the scientists along with two soldiers of the United States Army and crushing General Ross' arm during the ensuing fight. Ross was left with a badly broken arm following the incident, as well as a deep hatred of Banner, whom he blamed for the entire incident which had almost killed his daughter. When Banner had transformed back to normal and returned in order to visit Betty while she was still recovering from her injuries in the hospital, General Ross was furious and threw out Banner, causing Banner to have to go on the run from the General, who ordered his soldiers to take Banner into custody. Taken by a sense of guilt and rage, Ross put his life at the service of a single cause: to hunt down and capture Bruce Banner. Ross took charge of the Strategic Operations Command Center's effort to then recover the fugitive while in coordination with S.H.I.E.L.D., working alongside Director Nick Fury in the mission. The General's obsession caused a major rift between him and his daughter, Betty Ross, who still loved Banner. Their relationship never fully recovered. Meeting Tony Stark Five years after the "Hulk incident", as Tony Stark had been poisoned from his Arc Reactor palladium core, Senator Sternhad called Ross. Together they worked with Justin Hammer who presented to James Rhodes and Ross the Aerodynamic Marvel, which he considered to be the next step on close-quarter combat with protection and attack capabilities. As the machine was shot down during testing and Iron Man was sent to clean up. Once Stark saved the pilot, Ross ordered him to land on Cairo's West Air Base immediately. Ross met with Stark told him that they picked up on a shoot out with the Congolese Army and Stark did not return fire. Ross claimed that by not making weapons, Stark was distancing himself from his father. Stark warned that if innocent lives were put into harm's way there would be consequences. Chasing Bruce Banner While working in the Pentagon in Virginia, Ross was met by Kathleen Sparr who had received intel that a man in Milwaukee had received a strong case of gamma poisoning after he had drunk a single bottle of Pingo Doce. Looking at that amount of gamma radiation which had been inside the drink, Ross deduced that this must have been caused by Bruce Banner, who must have infected the bottle. Having finally gained his first lead on Banner's location in years, Ross had immediately begun a frantic search for his target, ordering Sparr to track down this factory that had been produced that soda, as she had explained was in Rocinha, near Rio de Janeiro. Ross ordered his soldiers and their contacts to look out for a white man who had been working in the factory while noting that the soldiers were not to make any contact with Banner as he would run at the first sign of danger. Believing that he was quickly closing in on capturing Banner at long last, Ross had begun putting together a special unit of highly trained soldiers with their sole purpose being to locate and capture Banner. Once he recruiting the help of General Joe Greller, Ross not only put together a team of some of the best soldiers he could find, as Greller also managed to hire one of the best operatives at his disposal, Emil Blonsky, and had then sent them to the village of Rio de Janeiro. As they traveled to the location, Ross chooses to not disclose the secrets of Banner's condition, believing them to still be top-secret. He told Blonsky and the other soldiers that Banner was a target of the United States government who had stolen military secrets and when Blonsky asked for more details, he refused to share them. He ordered them to ensure that Banner was captured without incident, while not telling them of the risks involved with their mission. Upon their arrival in Brazil, Ross remained inside their armored van with Kathleen Sparr while Emil Blonsky led their team of soldiers to the location of Bruce Banner. Ross watched the monitors closely as their team arrived at the location before Ross gave the order and they blasted open the door and shot their darts at Banner, only to discover that Banner had already managed to make his escape. Ross later met with Emil Blonsky once again as Ross had decided to disclose highly classified intel to Blonsky, noting that this information was highly sensitive to the United States Armed Forces as well as to Ross personally. Ross then commented that the Armed Forces had started an weapons development program that was started in World War II, which Blonsky noted was the Super Soldier Serumwhich had created Captain America. Ross confirmed that this is what he meant, noting that Blonsky's wording was an oversimplification of the work they had done. Ross explained that he had restarted this program, which had led to the creation of the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project, as he noted while Washington, D.C. was attempting to give all the soldiers better weaponry, he was trying to make the soldiers themselves better. With Blonsky clearly intrigued by this, Ross went on to explain how Bruce Banner's work with the project was in their early phases, and he had not known their intentions, believing it was for radiation resistance. With Banner still on the run, Ross gathered the Strategic Operations Command Center together for the briefing on how they would track him down. However, despite Sparr noting how the FBI was assisting them in their search for Banner and Betty Ross by tracking their cell phones and credit cards, Ross got up and claimed Banner would not be foolish enough to use anything that could be tracked and that he was not trying to escape, but he would be attempting to find help. Eventually, using the information that they had gained from their first encounter with Banner in Brazil, Sparr was able to track down his ally as Samuel Sterns who Banner was now attempting to meet at Culver University. Having gained a location on Banner, Ross agreed to allow Blonsky to be injected with more of the Super Soldier Serum, in order to make him strong enough to face the Hulk again, as Ross stood by and closely watched their entire procedure on Blonsky's body. Capturing Banner With his team prepared for their mission, Ross rejoined them on the helicopter as they made their way to Grayburn Collegewhere Bruce Banner was attempting to cure himself of the Hulk.2 Along the way, Ross listened as Kathleen Sparr briefed their team on how they would ambush Banner without actually engaging with him directly, only for Emil Blonsky to question what their plan was in case Banner was able to transform. Hearing Blonsky's complaints, Ross then noted that if they failed to capture him without allowing him to transform, then they would have failed to learn from their previous mistakes, insisting that they needed to be ready to let him go. As Blonsky continued complaining, Sparr noted that the people of New York City would be in danger if the Hulk was unleashed before questioning Blonsky's mental stability, only for Ross to then note that Blonsky may not be used in the field at all. Upon arriving at Grayburn College, Ross remained in their armored van with Sparr while Blonsky led his team inside and the snipers took their positions, finding Banner in with Samuel Sterns while they were discussing the Gamma Radiation in his blood. However, once snipers lined up their shot on Banner, Blonsky disobeyed Ross' direct orders as he charged upstairs to personally attack him, finding Banner just as he was shot with a tranquilizer dart and knocked unconscious. With Banner having finally been captured, Ross then watched on as he was taken outside by his men, strapped onto a bed to keep him from escaping. Since they had found evidence that both Banner and Sterns had just completed their experiment to remove the Hulk from his body, Ross stood over Banner and calmly warned that if he had managed to destroy the Hulk for good, then Ross would ensure that Banner would spend the rest of his life locked inside a prison cell. While Banner was removed, Betty Ross left the College as Ross had attempted to speak with her. However, Betty insisted that she would never forgive her father for what he had done to Banner. Although he tried to argue that Banner was a fugitive, Betty instead insisted that it was Ross who had made Banner the fugitive to cover his failures and protect his own career in the United States Armed Forces, noting she did not consider him her father before she furiously walked away. Duel in Harlem Inside their helicopter, Ross attempted to ignore Bruce Banneras he gently kissed Betty Ross' hands. However, just as they were leaving, Ross had gotten a call from his men on the ground, claiming that the Hulk was causing chaos in New York City, much to Ross' confusion as he looked over at Banner in their helicopter. Hearing the soldier's panic, Ross ordered his pilot to turn the helicopter around. As the soldiers turned on their body-cams, Ross then watched on in horror as the footage of the Abomination causing utter destruction in the streets was broadcast, as Banner realized that this Abomination was Emil Blonsky who had forced Samuel Sterns to expose his body to more of the Gamma Radiation, causing that transformation. Once the Abomination slaughtered his men, Ross tried to make a plan only for Banner to insist he be allowed to fight the Abomination himself. While the skeptical Ross had listened closely, Banner claimed that he needed to be taken back so the Hulk could battle the Abomination, believing he was the only one who stood a chance at defeating him. As Banner claimed that, while he could not fully control the Hulk, he might be able to aim its rage at the correct target, which Ross then questioned. When Banner noted that all three of them had all created the Hulk, Ross relented and ordered the pilot to land the helicopter. However, Banner insisted that they keep the helicopter out of harm's way, telling Ross to open the back door as he prepared to jump out, unsure if he would even transform back into the Hulk. Once Banner said his emotional goodbyes to Betty, Ross then watched as he fell from the helicopter and landed in the streets, getting back to his feet as the Hulk and furiously challenging the Abomination to a fight. As the two began to fight, Ross kept a close watch over the battle. Since it became clear that the Abomination was far stronger than the Hulk, Ross ordered his gunner to begin shooting at the Abomination, hoping that this would help. However, this only proved to enrage the Abomination who was unaffected by the bullets and instead charged directly at the helicopter. Despite the Hulk's best efforts to stop him, the Abomination then tore the helicopter from the air, which caused it to crash land, while both Ross and his daughter were still inside. With their helicopter having crash landed, Ross and Betty found that they were the only survivors, as they painfully got back on their feet, finding that the Hulk was still battling against the Abomination. As the Rosses attempted to leave before the Abomination could attack and kill them, their helicopter's fuel line burst into flames, which caused a massive fireball. However, the Hulk had witnessed this and, using his powerful clap, managed to extinguish the flames, saving their lives. With all the flames out, Ross was helped out of the helicopter by his daughter, only for them to suddenly be spotted by the Abomination, who was using a steel chain to beat the Hulk into submission. Seeing the man who had helped transform him, the Abomination then began furiously swinging the chain around his head in an attempt to kill the General, only for the Hulk to return to the fight to save them, causing a small Earthquake that had knocked the Abomination off his feet. Using this brief distraction to his advantage, the Hulk then wrapped the chain around the Abomination's throat, attempting to chock him to death. Ross and his daughter then watched on as the Hulk beat the Abomination into submission, even tearing out one of his bones, as continued strangling him until Betty stepped forward and begged the Hulk to stop. Seeing the woman he loved, the Hulk then calmed down as he tossed the defeated Abomination to the feet of Ross. With the Abomination finally defeated, the attention was then turned towards the Hulk, as the United States Armed Forcessurrounded the area, only for Ross to order them to lower their weapons, as he knew that he now owed the Hulk a debt for saving their lives and defeating the Abomination. As the Hulk looked down at Betty, more helicopters arrived and lit up the area, Ross had then simply allowed the Hulk to make his escape, making absolutely no effort to recapture him. Talk with Tony Stark In the aftermath of the battle and the humiliating defeat for Ross, the General drowned all his sorrows in bars, drinking and smoking. In order to try and save face, the World Security Council then informed S.H.I.E.L.D. that they wanted to make Emil Blonsky, who was currently in Ross' custody, part of the Avengers Initiative, blaming the Hulk for the Harlem incident and keeping Blonsky's reputation intact. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Phil Coulson and Jasper Sitwell, with knowledge of the events, sent Tony Stark to speak to Ross about the Avengers Initiative, as their patsy to prevent Ross from letting Blonsky join the Avengers. Stark informed Ross that a team was being put together. The talk ended up with Stark annoying Ross so much that Ross then refused to release Blonsky and tried to have Stark removed from the bar. In reply, Stark bought the bar and scheduled it for demolition. Secretary of State While playing golf, Ross suffered from a heart attack which resulted in thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass. As a result, in April 2016, after forty years of loyal service, General Ross announced his retirement from the United States Army.8 He was then swiftly appointed as the United States' Secretary of State by President Matthew Ellis, due to all of Ross' personal experience in dealing with the super-powered and highly dangerous individuals such as the Hulk, as well as the Abomination, throughout Ross' entire military career. Once the United Nations of the world had begun to sought to impose greater accountability on the activities of super-heroes, including but not limited to the Avengers, due to all the devastating events in New York, Washington, D.C., Sokovia and Lagos, Ross took on an active role in trying to ensure the protection of the world from whom he had viewed as being super-powered vigilantes in the wake of their several battles. Ross oversaw the writing of their Sokovia Accords that would limit the actions undertaken by these super-powered individuals. The Sokovia Accords Accompanied by Tony Stark, Ross had visited the Avengers at their facility to present them with the Sokovia Accords. He explained that there was no disagreement among the world's governments about whether the Avengers should all be considered heroes or vigilantes as the unlimited power with which they have operated could no longer be tolerated since it was almost impossible to control. To prove his point, Ross showed his video footage of the destruction caused by the Avengers during the Battle of New York, the Battle at the Triskelion, the devastating Ultron Offensive and the Attack on the IFID Headquarters, during which Scarlet Witch had inadvertently sent the bomb activated by Crossbones in a building occupied by several civilians who had died. Seeing the effect that the footage was having on Maximoff, Steve Rogers asked Ross to end the presentation. Ross then explained that since the Battle of Sokovia in which the city of Novi Grad had been completely destroyed, and many people had been killed, the Avengers would now be forced to sign their Sokovia Accords in order to be put in line, explaining that many countries had signed, which included Wakanda. Ross explained how these Accords meant that the Avengers would only operate under the supervision of the United Nations in order to keep them under their close watch. While Rogers insisted they kept the world safe, Ross noted that they did not even know where Thor and Bruce Bannerwere, while James Rhodes had asked for more details about the contingency plans that were included with the Accords. As he left to give the Avengers some time to discuss their reactions to the Accords, Ross was then asked by Natasha Romanoff what would happen if they did not sign and he had simply explained that they would be forced to retire instead. Captain America's rebbelion However, when the United Nations had been suddenly attacked with a bomb during the peace meetings regarding the Sokovia Accords, it resulted in the deaths of several innocent people, including King T'Chaka of Wakanda, all seemingly due to the terrorist actions of the Winter Soldier, the assassin was quickly caught and arrested but soon escaped with the help of Captain America who believed that his former friend was not the one responsible for the bombing. Furious with this, Secretary Ross met with Tony Stark to confront him and demand that he bring Rogers, Falcon and the Winter Soldier into justice. Upon hearing this, Natasha Romanoff questioned if Ross was willing to kill Captain America to catch the Winter Soldier, which Ross noted he was. Stark then promised he would take their fugitives into custody within seventy-two hours, although Ross had still remained somewhat skeptical and gave Stark just thirty-six hours. Arresting the Avengers In the wake of the Clash of the Avengers, Ross captured the majority of Captain America's team and took them to the Raftwhere they were thrown into individual cells. Tony Stark later flew to the Raft and was met by Ross, claiming that Helmut Zemo was to blame for the recent events, although Ross still remained furious about how bad the situation had become and then even threatened to have Stark arrested as well. While Stark went to speak to the prisoners, Ross watched from the CCTV cameras as Stark was insulted by his former friends, with Clint Barton especially angry at the betrayal. While Stark was speaking to Sam Wilson about the well being of James Rhodes who had been badly injured, the audio feed was then suddenly cut out during their conversation, which Ross had blamed on his technical team before realizing that Stark was most likely to blame for it all. Ross later walked Stark back to his helicopter to ask what Wilson had told him about Steve Rogers, although Stark claimed it was nothing and that he was heading back to the New Avengers Facility before taking off and investigate the situation further. Later, all the prisoners were freed by Captain America and Ross contacted Stark to inform him of this, only for Stark to fulfill his earlier promise and put him on hold and ignore him, much to Ross' annoyance. Forming the Thunderbolts Hiring former criminals In the short aftermath of the Avengers Civil War, Infinity War Because of the strain the events of the Clash of the Avengersput on their own families, Scott Lang and Clint Barton both took deals from Ross that ended up with them being under house arrest, while the others involved with siding with Captain America during their clash still remained at large, despite Ross and his men continuing to hunt them down with the intention of finally bring them all to justice. With the arrival of Thanos' Q-Ships in New York City, as well as the sudden disappearance of Vision, Ross contacted James Rhodes at the New Avengers Facility when it was found that Vision was rescued by three wanted criminals, Captain America, Black Widow, as well as the Falcon. As he and Rhodes discussed the Vision's disappearance, with Rhodes claiming that their former allies had only become known as criminals because of Ross, which Ross had merely scoffed at. As Ross and Rhodes talked, Rhodes noted that he had some second thoughts about Accords, before revealing that Captain America and his team had arrived with Vision and Scarlet Witch. Upon seeing their arrival, Ross confronted Rogers who claimed they were there to help after Tony Stark had vanished. Ross then ordered Rhodes to arrest the fugitives, but Rhodes instead terminated their connection, which earned him Ross' anger and a court-martial as a direct result. Due to the actions of Thanos, Ross witnessed the Snap which wiped out half of all life on Earth, including Ross' daughter, and Ross himeself. Without its secutery of State, America was in chaos, and a new sectuery was appointed weeks after the events of the snap, replacing the absent Ross. Return to Life Despite Thanos' victory, the Avengers reversed Thanos' actions and saved all those who had perished in 2023. Following this victory, Ross was among the many people to attend Tony Stark's funeral, who had given his life to destroy Thanos and his army, with Ross standing by Maria Hill, as he watched while Stark's Arc Reactor was sent adrift into a lake. After the funeral, Ross was shocked to lean that in his five year absense, he'd been replaced as secretary of state, the Avengers criminal records had been erased due to their heroism, and the Sokovia Accords no longer active. Ross was furious at this, but was deemed senile and wasn't listened to. Seeing Red An angry and betrayed Ross was soon approached by The Leader, who was one HYDRA's leaders. He promised Ross a second chance to have power again, which Ross accepted. The Leader took Ross to their secret Arctic base, and gave the former soldier a heavily modified version of the very same serum that made the Hulk over a decade ago. Ross realised he had been used too late, as The Leader activated the experiment, laughing maniacally. When it was complete, Ross was transfomed, and flew into a blind rage, destroying the Arctic base, and killing a few HYDRA agents while the rest were injured. The Leader got Ross under control, and dubbed him the Red Hulk, before sending him to cause havoc in New York. Duel in New York External Links * Category:Americans Category:Avengers Category:Deceased Characters - Ultron Timeline Category:Enhanced Individuals Category:Heroes Category:Humans Category:Incredible Hulks Category:Males Category:Politicians Category:Resurrected Characters - Original Timeline Category:Thunderbolts Category:United States Air Force Members Category:United States Government Officials